Archive for Truck

It was a busy day yesterday with the guys hustling around the shop to keep what seems like 1000 going at any given moment. We finally got the Porsche 356B body shell out of the back lot and en route to Georgia. Nate and I were going to put the longer forks on the Skid Steer loader but since we couldn’t find them we just used the shorter forks which worked just fine, reaching the upper level of the truck with ease. I pity the fool who has to take this lump off when it gets to GA!

Car Hauler Fire Truck

One of our customers bought this Seagrave Fire Truck from Washington State and asked us to arranged shipment to our shop to make it into a custom car hauler. When it arrived we loaded it onto our friends ramp truck to get it off the flat bed trailer. Needless to say, both kids and adults were crawling all over this thing. It has a Detroit Diesel 8V-71 engine and Allison Automatic transmission

Maserati Front Suspension and steering stuff

Ghibli 4.9 Liter S.S. engine

Rolf is managing the Maserati Ghibli project which means getting all kinds of parts sent off to the sub-contractors for various things like plating, rebuilding, etc.. We are sending the interior panels to Italy for upholstery while our local guy is going to replace the top and carpets.

Sandblasting various Parts

Andy is sandblasting all sorts of Maserati Parts, today he was pecking away at the leaf springs and doors. He has spent the week blasting the Ford 8N parts and Maserati parts such as front suspension and rear axle

Inverted Ferrari V-12 type 168

Nate is assembling a Ferrari Lusso engine, we finally got the correct piston rings and a new high tech piston ring grinder with dial indicator, super trick. He is also getting all sorts of parts painted on the Ford 8N project and has assembled the transmission and final drive and put them in epoxy primer. He found the correct shade of red in PPG acrylic urethane aka “Concept”.

Maserati Spyder seat Rails

Maserati Ghibli Air cleaner housing

Eben is contemplating how nearly every part on the Maserati Ghibli project car is damaged or hacked up. The bolt holes for the seat tracks are broken here and there, a threaded ear on the brake pedal is broken, and the air cleaner housing has been hacked up at the top for some reason. Why would someone go after this area with shears? Maybe once I get the entire car together it will become evident.

Casey and Syl worked the day on the blue 365 GTC/4, installing the front and rear glass and polishing a few odd marks out of the paint. Casey spent the week getting all the A/C hoses routed and other things together on this car that’s been apart for way too long (embarrassingly long time).

I dropped my kids off at school and picked them up later in the day. I also bought and sold the Jaguar XKE Roadster. I also packed up a complete A/C kit for a Ferrari 330 GTC in a huge and heavy box and developed a lead on a Jaguar XKE Series I 2+2 and a XKE Series 1 3.8 liter Coupe. A friend stopped in and we discussed all kinds of cars he has for sale, an Alfa Sprint, Lancia Flaminia S.S. Zagato, what else… He is looking for a Jaguar XK-12o Roadster and a Ferrari 250 GT PF Cabriolet S-II.

Our Bookkeeper Johanne was busy keeping our shop up to date with US Gov payroll status and all the million other bills she keeps on top of.

Peter was making some part, I just can’t remember at the time of this post… He was getting all the paperwork together for a Ferrari that we just sold.

What would you rather have, a boring old Ferrari or this Ford pickup. Can you imagine the possibilities with this rig, move that old toilet off the porch, fill the bed with ice to keep your beer cold, steady your 12 gauge on the rails so you can shoot stuff.

Since this truck is so nice and sorted I can’t let it go for less than $24,000

This super cool 1954 Ford F100 just came up for sale at the shop. At first glance the truck looks very good with good paint and trim, of course the next thing to look at are the floors and the cab corners which are both solid. The panel gaps are good and the floors seem to be in great original condition. This F100 has the appropriate 4 pointed star on the grill that indicates that it is powered by a 6 cylinder engine which is rare to find because so many have been converted to late model V-8 engines and automatic transmissions.

What always strikes me about these 1950s American trucks is their incredible simplicity, everywhere in the engine bay are basic and proven ancillary items such as the Holly Carburetor, AC fuel pump and Delco Electrical components. We are going through our normal process on cars that are new to us which include re-coring the radiator, rebuilding the generator and starter and replacing all of the brake components. We always overhaul the generators and alternators on old cars because it’s cheap and typically no one services these items until they fail. If it were an aircraft, you service components based on strict intervals so you don’t fall out of the sky, but on a car, the risk is much less as you roll to a stop on the side of the road which makes maintaining things like starters or generators less urgent. When we finish these projects, the truck will be driven and sorted so the next owner can feel confident when driving to the hardware store… and returning home.

We posted a shot of the 1947 Chevrolet Pick Up that we service a few weeks back, and our friend Bill Lockwood came by and took a couple pictures of it while it was in the shop. This 1947 was the first year of the Chevrolet Advance Design – the first post-war improvements benefiting consumers. This truck has a great looking paint job, a three speed on the floor, and excellent trim throughout.

Here is an outstanding 1947 Chevrolet Pick-Up, a great era in trucks because they look killer and can be driven around without being a total hazard since they can go 55 mph. We service a ’50 Chevrolet as well as this green ’47 which to me is the ultimate in classic trucks.

Not sure who owns these cars but they are the ones that were transported in the FIAT truck in the Ferrari team livery. The cars are in excellent condition mechanically but they are appropriately rough on the outside, a refreshing change to the glossy perfection that you typically see at the Cavallino. The Daytona that you see here was racing against a Michelotto 308 GTB on Friday for one of the best Vintage Ferrari races I have ever seen.

This is a super cool truck, a former Ferrari team transporter that is now hauling some vintage cars.. The truck hauled a competition Daytona, a 750 Monza and a 275LM to Palm Beach International Raceway.

Some friends of mine out of Tennessee converted this retired Ford/Grumman fire truck into a car hauler. It has a 235 Caterpillar engine and goes right down the road. They have some great motor sports stickers all over the truck but are looking for more so if you have any I am sure they would like some more.